Help! First time duck mom

[Charesegymnast]

Hi,

On Sunday I purchased five mallards, all two years old. Three are females and two are males. They are staying in my garage while their coop is being finished.

I haven't noticed them eating (they are all terrified of me - didn't have much people interaction before). I unfortunately filled up the food bowl very full and it is big. How much food should ducks eat a day? When should I get nervous?

They are all active and behaving like ducks that are scared of people. The hens all laid eggs today.

 

[ruthhope]

Give them time to settle in to their new home, let them have open access to food. How much will they eat? Our pekins eat 1 cup each morning and afternoon with what is over left for them to come back to and eat later. Our muscovies eat less -- maybe 2/3 cup each morning and evening. The muscovy drakes are much larger than the pekins and I suspect they are better at foraging hence eating less duck pellets

 

[Charesegymnast]

Give them time to settle in to their new home, let them have open access to food. How much will they eat? Our pekins eat 1 cup each morning and afternoon with what is over left for them to come back to and eat later. Our muscovies eat less -- maybe 2/3 cup each morning and evening. The muscovy drakes are much larger than the pekins and I suspect they are better at foraging hence eating less duck pellets

With them only eating around that much I bet I filled the bowl so full I can't tell any is missing. Thank you so much for the response. I was so worried

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hi,

On Sunday I purchased five mallards, all two years old. Three are females and two are males. They are staying in my garage while their coop is being finished.

I haven't noticed them eating (they are all terrified of me - didn't have much people interaction before). I unfortunately filled up the food bowl very full and it is big. How much food should ducks eat a day? When should I get nervous?

They are all active and behaving like ducks that are scared of people. The hens all laid eggs today.

I know this is a bit off topic, but are you getting more hens? Generally a ratio of about 1 drake to every 5 hens works best, as two drakes could overbreed three hens.

 

[Charesegymnast]

I know this is a bit off topic, but are you getting more hens? Generally a ratio of about 1 drake to every 5 hens works best, as two drakes could overbreed three hens.

With the eggs they are laying I'm attempting to hatch out babies to join the flock - but otherwise I haven't thought about adding more hens - these five have been together for two years with no other ducks and the previous owner had no problems

 

[BelovedBirds]

With the eggs they are laying I'm attempting to hatch out babies to join the flock - but otherwise I haven't thought about adding more hens - these five have been together for two years with no other ducks and the previous owner had no problems

Be careful if you do hatch out babies, as you could end up with more drakes than hens- if you decide to hatch, it might be a good idea to have a plan in place, either to rehome extra drakes, or divide the hens and drakes between two coops- bachelor flocks can work really well!
Just something to think about!